Arts & More

With the help of a $70,000 grant, Western Michigan University recently purchased a more than 800 year old Latin manuscript. It’s now the oldest complete text in the university’s collection - and it’s no bigger than the pocket-size books you might see at Barnes & Noble.

If you're a fan of The Who, you probably know the song "Baba O'Riley." What you might not know is that the name comes from two of Pete Townshend's influences - spiritual leader Meher Baba and composer Terry Riley.

Syria has been in the news since war broke out there roughly five years ago. While the conflict was once a distant thought in many Americans’ minds, the reality of the war is sinking in as Syrians seek asylum in the United States. Last month, 12 refugee families relocated to Kalamazoo. Unfortunately for some Americans, the war is all they know of Syria, but members of the Syrian-American group the DIO Trio hope to change that.

Michigan fiddler, banjoist, and singer/songwriter Laurel Premo received an email out of the blue, a little over two years ago, which took her in a surprising direction. A Swedish music student named Anna Gustavsson had discovered Premo's banjo playing on YouTube, and acted upon an instinct telling her that together, their instrument combination had great potential.